From Rodeo to Romulans
by Vulcan Wolf
Summary: Inspired by Keith Urban's awesome "'Til Summer Comes Around", but NOT a song-fic. What if Jim and Uhura knew each other already when they met in the bar? Jim used to be a rodeo rider at the county fair, where he meets the beautiful Uhura.
1. Chapter 1

**_All usual disclaimers apply._**

* * *

Chapter One

Every summer since he'd turned sixteen, Jim Kirk had worked at the Washington County Fair, which amounted to roughly five summers of his life spent catering to the local populace and the occasional group of outsiders who wandered through to sample "country living". He usually worked the gaming-booths, which drew some real dim bulbs, and their attractive but dumb girlfriends. Jim liked smart, pretty girls, usually in that exact orders. He knew his share of smart, pretty girls, but he'd never sleep with any of them. Now, he had dated the sheriff's daughter for a year, which had probably not been the smartest thing he'd ever done, but at least it got the law off his back for a while. Jim had quietly shown Sheriff Wilkinson that he wasn't just a rabble-rousing, repeat-offending genius, he also had manners and knew how to treat a girl like a queen. Despite their quiet parting of ways, Jim would never call it a breakup, he was still on good terms with Kitty's father and with Kitty herself. Hell, just last year he'd given Kitty away at her own wedding because she asked him to. Sheriff Wilkinson had said sure, if that's what his baby girl wanted, she'd have it. One of the weirdest things he'd ever done, but Jim didn't mind. Kitty deserved the best and now she was married to a lawyer in Dallas. And happy. Jim, on the other hand, remained stuck in Riverside scratching a living out of the quarry except for the three months of the year when he worked at the County Fair. At the moment, he was leaning on the counter of his gaming-booth and watching the fair-goers ebb and flow past his vantage-point. Next to him, his buddy David was bellowing and hollering to get people to come and play.

Suddenly, Jim straightened up and stared. He'd seen a girl in the crowd who was no townie, she sure wasn't a local. A family-group passed by and Jim saw her. Smart, pretty girls. Jim's jaw dropped open and the primal part of his brain sat up and begged like a puppy. This girl was definitely not from Iowa, she couldn't be! She was a city-girl for sure, and one fine specimen of the fairer sex. She stood maybe five foot even, without those boots that gave her an extra six inches. Small, but definitely no damsel in distress. She wore knee-high boots with a six-inch block-heel, a pair of blue denim skinny-jeans tucked into those boots, and a black cap-sleeved blouse that revealed slender curves and a tattoo on her lower back. Her skin was a smooth, flawless brown, like melted chocolate, her eyes a few shades darker than her skin, and her hair was shiny, curly black. There were two girls, he noticed, his goddess's companion was a feisty-looking ginger with taunting green eyes and a peppering of freckles. The ginger wore boot-cut distressed jeans, Jim could tell she was wearing cowboy boots with them, and a sleeveless red and black striped shirt tied above the belly-button. Both girls wore cowboy hats, but it was pretty obvious these were city-girls out for some fun. Jim was yanked out of his daydreaming by the appearance of Doctor Booth, the rodeo coordinator.

"Good morning, Doctor Booth."

"Jim." Booth didn't even acknowledge David, "Can you ride, son?"

"Ride, sir?" Ride what, exactly? He could ride horses, that included broncos, he could ride bulls. Not that anybody knew that.

"Can you ride or can't you?"

"I can ride anything you put me on, sir. Is there something I can do for you?"

"Danny Stilers broke his arm in a test run, I have to replace him."

"Not to sound stupid, but what makes you think I can replace Danny Stilers?"

"Because you're his alternate, Kirk. If something happens to him and he can't ride, you're the one who goes in for him. And since he can't ride, you're up. Get moving, you're on in an hour." Booth turned and walked away, leaving Jim to pinch himself.

"Hey, Jimmy, what did Doc want?" David hadn't heard a single word of that. Jim shook his head and shoved away from the counter.

"I've gotta go, David. Find Jack and tell him he gets to fill in for me."

"Where are you going? Mr. Wimer won't let you leave!"

"If he has a problem, he can go to Doctor Booth." Jim slipped out the back and ran to the rodeo arena. Crashing into Danny Stilers' dressing-room, he found one of the medics mending a clean break, "Danny!"

"Jimmy. Take a seat, son." Danny didn't look very comfortable, Jim sat in a corner and just watched. Once the medic was gone, Danny uttered such a long string of curses Jim had to laugh. Danny turned to him and smiled, sad, "I'm sorry, Jimmy."

"Don't be sorry for breaking your arm. I'm just surprised Booth found out my dirty secret." Jim shrugged and looked around the little room he'd pretty much lived in when he wasn't working the gaming booths. Actually, he did live here. The narrow bed he was sitting on was his. Getting up, he went to the closet and pulled it open, looking at the clothes hanging inside and remembering all the times he'd sit in here before a show and watch Danny get ready.

* * *

Jim remembered the first time he'd met Danny Stilers. His mom had brought him to the Fair with his stepdad and his brother, and Jim had wandered off. Nobody had really paid that much attention to an eight-year-old by himself, wandering around the fairgrounds. He'd found the rodeo arena and snuck around the back where he found the horses. One of the grooms had scared him off, Jim had run behind the first pair of legs he saw. Those legs, encased in denims and battered leather chaps, had belonged to Danny Stilers, champion bull-rider, roper, and barrel-racer. That had been the beginning of something beautiful. Danny had taken Jim under wing and kept him safe until his mom got worried enough to wonder where the blazes her son had gotten off to and Doctor Booth found him happily kicking his heels in Danny's dressing-room, licking an ice-cream cone and wearing Danny's lucky hat which made eating the ice-cream a little difficult because the hat was way too big for an eight-year-old boy. After a few such visits, Danny shocked Jim, and Jim's mother, by filing for joint custody of Jim as his legal guardian. The filing assured Jim a safe place to go when he needed one and it wasn't all that unusual for Jim to call Danny when it got really bad at home, which was pretty much every night, and Danny would come and get him. Since Danny was Jim's legal guardian, there wasn't much Frank could do to stop Danny from coming to get him, which made Jim happy.

"What are you thinkin', kid?" Danny's voice pulled him back to the present and Jim looked over his shoulder.

"I was just remembering when I was little, all the times I'd sit in here and watch you get ready for shows like this one. You used to put me up on Lightening just before the show and let me sit up there, you said it made Lightening calmer to have me up there right before a big show. Doctor Booth thought you were nuts."

"Still does think I'm nuts for making you my ward."

"He doesn't know you saved me by doing that." Jim leaned against the wall and folded his arms, "Danny, I don't know if I can replace you."

"You're not replacing me, Jim." Danny got up and came over to him, "Even Booth knows that. You're going out there to make a name for yourself. If this gig works, you'll never have to work those damned booths again as long as these fairgrounds hold a rodeo arena."

"Do you think I'm that good?"

"You are that good, Jim. You've been riding for five years, you can do this." Danny smiled and hugged him with his good arm. It was the kind of hug Jim had never gotten from his mom or Uncle Frank, the warm, loving hug that reminded Jim that even when it felt like the world hated him, there was somebody who cared. When Danny pulled away, he gave Jim a shake, "Hey, I want to show you something. Come 'ere, I had this fixed up a few months back for you. Never told Booth about it." Jim was shown a white box.

"What's this?"

"Open it."

"What's in it?"

"Open it and see." Danny had something up his sleeve, he looked too pleased with himself. Jim shrugged and opened the box. Inside was a pair of Wrangler jeans, the slim-fit cowboy cut jeans Jim had drooled over the first time he'd seen a pair, a pair of leather chaps to go over the jeans, black roping boots, and a tri-color long-sleeved shirt in gold and black with a solid white yoke-stripe that extended down the sleeves to separate the other two colors. The placket, button-down collar, and cuffs were black. All of this was his, Danny had obviously foreseen some future for Jim in rodeo and done this all for him. He wouldn't replace Danny, he'd join him. Jim looked at the man who had been a father to him, always would be, and smiled.

"All of this is mine?"

"Yep. I knew you were destined for greater things than pandering to the dimwits who try to knock over milk-bottles with a baseball." Danny just smiled and motioned for Jim to get dressed. Jim tossed off the ratty jeans and short-sleeved polo he'd been wearing before, kicked off the scuffed tennis-shoes, and gladly exchanged them all for the new clothes. Danny liked buying him nice clothes, Jim wore them only rarely, these would be for the most special of occasions. Once he was dressed, he did something with his hair, which he'd grown long to piss off his stepdad. Or he tried to. Danny shook his head.

"You'll be wearing a hat, and besides, the girls like boys with long hair these days."

"Sure hasn't gotten me many compliments. Kitty Wilkinson said she liked it, I looked like a surfer is what she said."

"You've always been close to that girl, haven't you?" Danny smiled.

"Hard not to be when she asked me to do her dad's job at her own wedding." He blushed, "She would have loved this." There was a loud, obnoxious knock at the door and somebody yelling that they had five minutes. Jim wondered where that time had gone and didn't care. He left the dressing-room with Danny and headed for the staging area. He could hear the roar of the crowd and rubbed his hands together briskly, "Damn nerves." Danny laughed at him.

"You'll be fine, Jim! You're riding Ronin this time."

"Oh, great." He groaned, "I won't be fine, Danny! Ronin throws me five seconds in!"

"Not today he won't." Danny smirked and they reached the starting gate. Ronin was fighting three handlers as Jim slipped into the gate. He touched Ronin's flank and startled the feisty roan into utter stillness.

"There you go, Ronin. No throwing me five seconds in today, got that?" He mounted carefully, knowing Ronin could unseat him in the starting-gate without a care for the world. The handlers buckled on a pair of blunt spurs to Jim's boots and he looked out at the packed stadium. There was a loud, resounding boo as it was announced Danny Stilers would not be riding today due to a training injury and Jim ducked low. He'd seen the crowd from the other side of the fence after this kind of announcement. They weren't usually very nice to the unfortunate soul coming after or replacing Danny. He looked up as Danny came to the side-gate, "Danny, I can't do this! They hate me already!"

"They won't hate you. Here, wear this and go show 'em how you can handle a crowd."

"Not a crowd that hates me! Look at them, Danny!" Jim didn't even realize what Danny had done until something slipped over his eyes a little. He paused and reached up, pulling off the hat. A battered black Charlie 1 Horse felt hat with a decorative band set with a decorative concho medallion, feather, trim, and beaded tassel. The band had been replaced at least twice in Jim's memory, always the same set as before. He brushed the feather with reverent fingertips and looked at Danny, "Your lucky hat."

"I want you to wear it, Jimmy. You need it a little more than I do today."

"Get ready, Kirk, you're up." One of the handlers whispered as the crowd began hollering and cat-calling for Danny's unfortunate replacement to come out and show himself. He tightened his grip on the reins, glad for the leather gloves, and leaned over Ronin's neck. The gate opened and Ronin literally exploded into the arena. Ronin, in his usual fashion, did everything in his power to throw Jim before the announcer got through his introduction, Jim wasn't putting up with it this morning.

"Ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys! Put your hands together for our next rough-rider! Give a warm Riverside welcome to James Tiberius Kirk! Today he rides our feisty Ronin!" Who was three seconds from pitching his stubborn rider. Jim decided to give these people a real show, not a staged farce like Booth usually gave them. At the thirty-second mark, he suddenly let go and let himself fall. But, on his way down, he'd pulled off the lariat coiled behind the saddle. Most people used it for roping calves, Jim had a different use for it. As the rodeo clowns ran after Ronin, Jim quietly swung the lariat, waiting for Ronin to come back his way. Ronin came alright, at a full gallop. The crowd yelled for him to get out of the way, he was standing directly in Ronin's path. Jim turned to the side as he threw out the lariat, the loop landed softly around Ronin's neck and he gave a hard jerk. It tightened and Ronin was forced to turn. On the come-back, Jim reached out, grabbed a handful of mane, and used Ronin's momentum to pull himself into the saddle. Lariat and reins in hand, he kept his balance with his knees. As he raced past the stands, the crowd was hollering and screaming, going absolutely wild. Ronin, pissed that he'd gotten back on, tried and tried to buck him off, Jim held on. Two minutes had passed since they'd left the gate when Ronin finally gave up and contented to gallop past the crowds. Jim did some trick-riding, showing off what he knew Ronin was capable of when he wasn't being an ass.

* * *

When he brought Ronin to a halt, the crowd was on its feet and going absolutely nuts. The first two rows in the bleachers were full of screaming girls who threw trinkets onto the sand of the arena like some people threw roses onto a stage after a star tenor's performance. One came high and Jim caught it mid-air. Opening his hand, he was stunned by the thrown trinket. Most girls threw little things like charm necklaces and fake flower circlets with ribbons, Jim was holding a beautiful silver-and-turquoise bracelet that looked purely exotic. Leaning over, he dropped from the saddle and picked up a few small things from the sand, tucking the bracelet out of sight. Who would throw something that valuable? Why? Mounting again, he faced his chief admirers and caught sight of the city-girls he'd seen from the gaming-booth. He did a slow walk, the girls screamed and touched, and when he passed by the city-girls, his goddess slipped him a note. He angled Danny's hat back and looked up at her, giving her his best smile. The note passed as he kissed the back of her hand, no one knew about it. He returned to the starting-gate and slid to the ground with a casual flourish. The handlers were going crazy, Danny was shaking his head.

"I told you!" Danny scolded him once they were back in the dressing-room, "You crazy, reckless kid! You did it! You won them over!"

"I just thought I'd mix things up a bit. Besides, I've been thrown off by Ronin one time too many." Jim shrugged and set out the trinkets he'd picked up.

"I saw you catch somethin', what was it?"

"Somebody in the crowd threw me this." He set down the bracelet, "I've seen worthless stuff thrown out for the younger riders, this has got to be worth a small fortune."

"Somebody threw you this?"

"Yeah. I think I know who it was." He sat down on his bed and unfolded the note he'd tucked into his glove.

**_To: The Rogue._**

**_From: A Very Secret Admirer._**

**_I have a bet with my friend that I'll find some cowboy to sweep me off my feet. I think not. She's ready to prove me wrong. And so, it seems, are you. Take my bracelet as a down-payment. I'll come for it when the time is right. Keep it safe until then._**

**_Your most secret of admirers._**

Danny put the bracelet in the lock-box for safekeeping until it's owner came for it, Jim had no idea when that would be. He tucked the note under his pillow as the door flew open and Kitty Wilkerson swept in with her husband two steps behind her. Jim erupted off the bed, shocked to see her but not that surprised.

"Kitty!"

"Jim, that was probably the stupidest thing you've ever done but it was brilliant!" Kitty was all over him, showing him just precisely how stupid she thought that was. Jim was just glad Andrew liked him, or he'd be in serious trouble for that kiss. Danny just rolled his eyes. Kitty and Andrew didn't stay very long, just long enough to congratulate him on making his entry into the world of rodeo. Doctor Booth roared in after Kitty was gone and asked Jim what the hell he thought he was doing pulling a stunt like that. Jim just admitted that he wanted to give his crowd a good show. For whatever reason, that satisfied Booth. Jim then had an hour to rest for his next performance. Next up: bull-riding. That was a six-second ride Jim didn't mind falling off from. You were supposed to fall, and the harder the fall the better they liked it. Jim took off the outfit and slept in a pair of old sweats and a tee-shirt. He slept half an hour and spent half an hour mentally preparing himself. When he was called up, he said a quick prayer and got ready for the wildest six-second ride of his life.

The bull was older, Jim knew this one from practice runs and having watched the younger riders. This was the one they gave the younger riders because he wasn't as jerky and antsy as the young bulls the real professionals rode for anywhere from six to twelve seconds. He looked to one side as he waited in the starting-gate, and saw his goddess. She looked mighty worried to see him sitting on a bull, he just tipped his hat to her and focused. Jim held on for ten seconds, not bad for his first public performance, and the fact that he didn't break anything or get trampled when he fell was a miracle. As the clowns chased the bull back into the gate, Jim got up and waved to the crowd. A side-rider came up with Ronin and Jim mounted, groaning. That ride had hurt a little more than his first go, he hoped Booth didn't expect anymore performances out of him today. He did a short circuit of the arena for his truly adoring fans, and when he reached the girls from the city, he stopped. He touched his hat to them and smiled his best.

"Ladies."

"How long did you hold on?"

"That was ten seconds right there, ma'am." He smiled at the girl, "I've known bull-riders hang on for twelve. It's when you're on the ground you've gotta worry." He took her hand and kissed it, and he knew this was the girl who owned that bracelet. He saw the faint red marks from where it usually rested on her wrist. Ah-hah. Feeling rather bold, Jim kissed the closest mark and looked up at her, "You'd better come for that bracelet of yours real quick, darlin'." She must have turned three or four shades red. When Jim got back to the room this time, he was one hurtin' man. Ten seconds had just about killed him.

"Jim, that was brilliant! Ten seconds your first ride?" Danny smiled as he collapsed on his narrow bed, "That was perfect for your first day!"

"Just don't tell me I have to go out again, I'll be covered in black-and-blue for days as it is." Jim folded his hands behind his head, "That did feel pretty damn good, though. They loved me."

"They always like fresh blood. Somethin' new to look at." Danny smiled, "And you, Jim, are a fine sight to look at." Jim rolled his eyes. Booth came by to tell him he was off the hook for the rest of the day, go enjoy yourself. Jim had never really "enjoyed" the fair, and pulled on a pair of clean relaxed-fit jeans and a denim jacket with sherpa lining over a blue long-sleeved button-down. He wore his roping boots since he didn't have anything else to wear, and set off to enjoy himself. Jim took the bracelet on a whim. The chances he would run into that girl were pretty good.


	2. Chapter 2

Nyota Uhura had been far less than thrilled when her friend Stefanie Graye suggested a trip to Riverside, Iowa. Why? Because the Washington County Fair was the big thing for three states around. A city-girl by preference, Nyota was not thrilled about spending a weekend in a little hicktown in rural Iowa just because her friend thought it would be fun.

"Oh, lighten up, Enya!" Stefanie scolded, "I bet you'll meet some cowboy and just get swept off your feet and never want to leave."

"Yeah right." Nyota rolled her eyes, "Like I'll meet some hick with no manners and just swoon over him. Oh, please."

"Not all of them have bad manners."

"Since you're so damn insistent." Nyota frowned, "Twenty credits says no way."

"You're on."

"Fine." Nyota shook hands with Stefanie and so they went to the County Fair to see if there was a boy who could sweep the Ice Queen off her feet. After a few hours, Nyota had all but given up, and then she and Stefanie went to the rodeo events. The billed act was six-time rodeo champion Danny Stilers, but the crowd booed when it was announced that Stilers would not be performing due to a training accident in which he had broken his arm. Suddenly, there was a commotion by the starting-gate and Nyota watched with the rest of the crowd as a bucking roan stallion literally exploded from the starting gate, the rider seemingly hanging for dear life as the announcer introduced the next act.

"Ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys! Put your hands together for our next rough-rider! Give a warm Riverside welcome to James Tiberius Kirk! Today he rides our feisty Ronin!" Feisty indeed, that horse was doing everything in it's power to unseat it's rider. Nyota was quick to realize that the rider wasn't hanging on for dear life, in fact he knew exactly what he was doing. Suddenly, at the thirty-second mark, the rider took what looked like an accidental tumble. Nyota knew better and actually smiled. He'd fallen off on purpose, and she leaned forward to watch him, to see what he'd do next. His name was James Tiberius Kirk, a name commanding respect for a boy who was probably a lot more trouble than he was worth, but she found something about that appealing. He stood calmly on the sand, swinging a lariat, waiting for the roan to come back at him. Nyota was among those who yelled at him to get out of the way, he was directly in the path of the rampaging stallion. At the last possible second, he whirled aside, throwing out the lariat, and a lasso landed around the horse's neck. A good hard yank pulled it taut and Nyota watched the horse turn into the opposing force. A split-second later, Kirk was astride his stubborn mount and showing off for his now-adoring audience after fighting for dominance and winning. There were some close moments when Nyota was so sure he'd be thrown again, but he held on. When the horse admitted defeat, the trick-riding began. This one worked off the energy of the crowd, the positive energy of the crowd. And this crowd was on it's feet for the performers. Nyota abandoned her seat as Kirk began to wind up his act, leaving Stefanie who didn't even know she was gone. The first two rows of bleachers were now full of screaming girls ranging in age from sixteen to twenty-five. Maybe a little older. As Kirk did a circuit of the arena for his fans, the girls threw little trinkets, just worthless little things like token coins and flower circlets. Nyota wanted to give him something else. When he came past, she threw out something rather valuable. Stefanie would kill her when she found out what Nyota had done, but Nyota didn't care about that as she carefully tossed out her grandmother's silver-and-turquoise bracelet with Tuareg engravings and a cabochon turquoise setting. Kirk caught it mid-air, and after looking at it he dropped out of sight behind his horse. Nyota knew what he was doing and smiled. On another circuit, he passed right by them and stopped before her. Stefanie had come down by now, but it wasn't Stefanie Kirk looked at from under that hat of his. He could have stopped for any girl lining the bleachers to touch him, and a lot of girls were touching him, but she was the girl he stopped to touch back. Nyota had written him a note and she slipped this into his hand as he kissed the back of hers. The note vanished into his glove to be read later, and as he went back to the starting-gate, Nyota couldn't help the smile.

"And why are you smiling?" Stefanie sniped. Nyota just smirked.

"That is none of your business. Come on, I'm hungry." They went to find something to eat. Stefanie wanted to know where her bracelet was, Nyota just told her she'd put it in a pocket to keep it safe. Not telling Stefanie it wasn't safe in her pocket. The next event an hour later was bull-riding. The first rider out was Kirk. Nyota sat closer to the starting-gate this time, privately worried that this would be far more dangerous than the crazy roan earlier. Kirk saw her sitting up there and tipped his hat before he was out of the starting gate and hanging on for the longest ten seconds of Nyota's life. She didn't breathe for ten seconds, she didn't think, move, or blink until she saw him get up and wave. The minute he was astride Ronin, Nyota went down ring-side. Stefanie came with her. He did a short circuit of the arena for his truly adoring fans, and when he reached Nyota and Stefanie, he stopped. He touched his hat to them and smiled his best.

"Ladies." Nyota almost swooned. His smile…that smile was for her. Nyota asked him how long he'd stayed on that bull, he told her it was ten seconds. He knew riders who'd lasted twelve seconds. It wasn't the ride itself you had to worry about, he said, it was once you were on the ground that you really had to worry. When he kissed her hand, he looked up at her. He knew it was her bracelet, he kissed the faded red mark from where it usually sat on her wrist, and told her to come back for it sooner than later. Stefanie just about went postal on her. Nyota ignored her friend.

"You won the bet, I am not paying up."

"Cheater!"

"I weep for you." Nyota rolled her eyes and went off by herself. She wandered the fair alone, keeping one eye out for Kirk. After a decent amount of time, she wandered back to the arena and slipped around into the "backstage" area. She found the holding pens for the horses and found Ronin in a pen with another horse. Smiling, Nyota climbed the fence and sat on the top rung. She probably wasn't allowed to do this, but she wanted to do it just because it wasn't allowed.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised you snuck back here, but I don't think you came to see Ronin and Lightening." The voice behind her startled Nyota, mostly because she hadn't heard anyone come up behind her in the first place and she lost her balance. She never hit the ground, though.

"Whoa!" she gasped, keeping her eyes shut.

"Sorry about that, I thought you'd heard me coming." It was Kirk. Nyota cracked an eye open and realized she had both arms around his neck so she wouldn't fall, not that she was really going anywhere.

"Oh, sorry." She blushed and let go of him, "I wasn't paying attention. That was my fault."

"No harm done." He set her on her feet and smiled, climbing the gate to face her direction, "Oh, you dropped this." He reached into his pocket and pulled out her bracelet, "I figured you might want it back."

"You remembered."

"You bet I remembered." He shrugged, "That's a nice bracelet. Where'd you get it?"

"It's my grandmother's bracelet."

"I figured it was a family heirloom, I've never seen one like it before." Kirk leaned back a little, "So, if you don't mind my asking, what's a city-girl like you doing in a middle-of-nowhere town like Riverside?"

"My friend thought it would be a fun experience."

"The ginger. Why did she think the County Fair would be even remotely fun?"

"I was wondering the same thing." Nyota blushed, "At least until I saw you."

"I'm flattered." He hopped off the fence, "What's your name?"

"Nyota. Nyota Uhura."

"You already know mine, but you can just call me Jim." He turned to the horses, "And these two trouble-makers are Ronin and Lightening. You know Ronin, I rode him earlier."

"And Lightening?"

"He belongs to Danny."

"Do you know Stilers?"

"Yeah, I know Danny Stilers." Jim smiled, "Believe it or not, he's my legal guardian. It's not such a big deal since I'm over eighteen, but back when I needed a guardian, I had one."

"Family trouble?"

"You could say that. Familial dysfunction is not a fun experience."

"What about your dad?"

"He died when I was little, I don't even remember him. I think he died before I was born. Mom doesn't talk about him much."

"Did she remarry?"

"I hate the guy, is that wrong of me?"

"No." Nyota shook her head. Well, she had that much in common with him, except it was different for her. She didn't speak to her mother at all, and she adored her stepmother. Her father was a wonderful, loving man, and her grandparents were just amazing people.

"Do you have any siblings?"

"I have three stepsiblings, but I'm the only child from my father's first marriage."

"I used to have an older brother, but he disappeared a few years ago and I haven't heard from him." So, technically, they were only children. As they talked, they walked through the fair together.

"So, I guess Stilers is pretty much your father, then? If he's your guardian?"

"And he makes one hell of a parent." Jim shoved his hands into his pockets and scuffed at the ground with one boot, "So, where's your family from, anyway? You've got a strange accent."

"My father's family is from Kenya. I live in Seattle."

"We get outsiders from places like Rapid City, the Dakotas, Jackson Hole, and Chicago, but…not that far away." Jim looked impressed.

"Seattle's not that far away."

"No, but Kenya sure is. How long are you in town, then?"

"Just for the weekend."

"The last weekend of the County Fair's usually the busiest, and the most fun. I'm gonna get my ass kicked this weekend."

"Why?" she noticed his smile was mischievous.

"How many times do I have to fall to please a crowd and come home covered in bruises?"

"Ouch. Maybe you won't have to ride bulls anymore this weekend."

"I hope not. I can do it, but I don't like doing it. I got trampled on a training ride a last year and it took six month before I could walk straight and breathe without coughing."

"Ouch! How did you get through today without freaking out?"

"I really don't know." He shrugged and Nyota knew bull-riding was not in his future. Everything else was fair game. Jim was wonderful company, fun to talk to, and when it got cold as it got dark, he gave her his jacket. There was a dance-floor and a live band on the other side of the ferris-wheel, Jim asked her to dance a few numbers, Nyota couldn't say no. They danced fast, they danced slow, they completely lost track of the time. Nyota was startled when antimatter fireworks arced high and burst into showers of multicolored sparks overhead. She looked up and then at Jim, who smiled.

"They always have fireworks right before the fairgrounds close for the night. Sometimes they do it at sundown, too."

"They're beautiful." Nyota watched the fireworks for a while, before Jim pulled her into a slow turn. She didn't know the name of the song, but she liked it. Finally, the fairgrounds closed for the night and everyone went home. Jim offered to take her back to the hotel, but Nyota didn't really want to go. For one thing, she really didn't want to put up with Stefanie. Jim seemed to understand and took her home. Home, for Jim, was a tiny one-room apartment in what constituted Riverside's downtown area. It was a little messy, but it was home enough for the person who lived there. There weren't a lot of family photos, and the ones she did see showed Jim and Stilers together doing the typical father-son things together. Most of the pictures were landscape portraits, or pictures of complete strangers. She picked up one picture of an Iowa sunset taken from a hill-top, marveling at the contrast of light and dark and all the colors.

"Did you take these pictures, Jim? These are incredible!"

"Those are just a hobby of mine. I like taking pictures."

"You're good at it." She set the picture down and looked around some more. A book sat on the coffee-table, all but begging to be opened. Nyota flipped open the cover and quickly realized this was a sketch-book. Page after page after page full of incredibly detailed drawings. People, places, events. One drawing showed a crowded place, there were a lot of people around, and she saw stalls or booths of some kind. The focus of the drawing was a child standing alone in the ebb and flow of people, just…watching them go by him without bothering. The drawing made her sad, but she didn't know why. Jim came over with a cup of tea, and saw what she was looking at.

"Do you know who that is?"

"No, but he looks so sad! When did you see this!"

"That's old." Jim looked sad as he studied the picture, and Nyota looked from the drawing to Jim and realized something.

"Oh my god! That's you! That little boy is you! Oh, Jim!"

"There's nothing like getting lost and realizing three hours later that no one's missed you. That's the day I met Stilers."

"Didn't your mother realize you were missing?"

"If she did, she sure didn't care enough to come look for me." Jim frowned, "I wonder sometimes if she didn't try to leave me there. If she didn't walk away on purpose."

"Why would she do that?"

"Because I look too much like my father and she doesn't like to be reminded of him."

"That's awful!" Nyota closed the book, set down her tea, and hugged Jim, "I'm sorry she tried to leave you behind. You're a wonderful person, Jim, people just don't understand you."

"I think that's the nicest thing anybody's ever said about me." Jim hugged her back and they just sat on the couch and cuddled. When it got late enough for bed, Jim gave her a pair of boxers and a tee-shirt she could wear for pajamas. They smelled like him, she noticed. And he smelled like heather soap and warm grass and horses. It wasn't bad at all. That night, she slept in the narrow twin-bed without batting an eyelash when Jim got close and cuddled. The next morning, they were up early and after taking showers, he took her out to breakfast at a little cafe two blocks from his apartment. She spent the day at the fair, wasting time between Jim's performances and sneaking backstage for the rest of it. He introduced her to Stilers, who just smiled and warned them to behave themselves. She was apparently a serious affair, and Jim wasn't known for serious affairs. His only other steady girlfriend had married last year, Jim had given her away to her then-fiance. They were at the County Fair, and Nyota got to meet Kitty Wilkinson and Andrew Pike. Nyota did not feel threatened by Kitty, she actually liked the girl. She had treated Jim right, the way girlfriends should treat their boyfriends, and that was good enough for Nyota.

Finally, and far too soon, the weekend was over and the fairgrounds closed down for the season. Nyota found it ridiculously hard to say goodbye to Jim, he tracked her down at the shuttle-port the morning of their flight back to Seattle, she heard him shouting her name across the hangar.

"Nyota! Wait!"

"Jim?" She turned around to see him pushing his way through the crowd of people waiting to see loved ones off or to board the shuttle.

"Enya, we've gotta go!"

"Wait a minute, Stef." Nyota pulled away and met Jim halfway.

"You've already said goodbye! I don't want you to leave!"

"I don't want to leave." She buried her face in his neck and tried to remember how to breathe on her own. She had secretly packed the tee-shirt and boxers she'd worn to bed every night of her stay so she'd have something to remember him by. Reaching up, she ran her fingers through his long hair and pulled back to look into his eyes.

"Nyota, this is crazy. I've only known you for three days and I love you!" He rested his forehead against hers, his eyes wild. Nyota smiled and leaned up to kiss him.

"Then that makes two of us." She kissed a scar on his chin, "I love you, too, James T. Kirk. I stole that tee-shirt you let me borrow."

"Oh, sweetheart, that one is all yours." He kissed her again and she tried to make it last. Finally, they had to part or she'd miss her flight. As tantalizing as that sounded, Nyota couldn't stay in Riverside forever. Before she pulled away for good, Jim handed her something.

"What's this?"

"You said you'd made a bet with your friend. I don't know how much you were betting, but that should cover some of it."

"Jim, these are yours! I can't take these!" Nyota was shocked. He had given her forty credits.

"I get paid more as a rodeo rider than I did working the gaming booths. I can afford to pay off a stupid bet."

"It wasn't stupid, Jim. Stefanie won the bet, I won the boy. I got the better end of the deal." She tried to picture Stefanie's face when she paid up, and kissed Jim goodbye. Her last sight of him was him waving from the ground as the shuttle took off, then she didn't see him anymore. As they finally reached cruising altitude, she gave Stefanie the credits.

"What are these?"

"Twenty for the bet, twenty for compensation because, for whatever reason, you're pissed that I was actually swept off my feet by some cowboy with a nice smile and the manners of a gentleman."

"Who said I was pissed?"

"Either you're pissed off, or you're jealous. Consider that fair compensation. I lost the bet, but I got something better."

"That's what pisses me off. When I made that bet, I wasn't actually expecting you to hook up with some rodeo hotshot with a million-dollar smile and eyes that make the sky look pale! What's his name?"

"James Tiberius Kirk. Jim." She blushed, "He told me I couldn't call him James."

"You know you're not his first girlfriend and I find it unlikely you'll be his last."

"There was only one before me. Ladies man, maybe, but he does have the manners of a gentleman. If it's the right girl, he'll treat her like a queen."

"I guess you were the right girl." Stefanie was jealous. For some reason, that made Nyota really happy.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Nyota Uhura looked around the teeming shipyard bar, eyeing the smattering of civilians. In the back of her mind, she kept reminding herself that just because she wore a uniform didn't actually make her any better than any of these people. But she was better than them, she rationalized. After all, she couldn't see a single one who would come close to making it into Starfleet if their pathetic townie lives depended upon it. Reaching the bar after stopping for a quick social-visit with some fellow recruits, she placed an order. She ordered a shot of Jack Daniels along with the other drinks.

"Make that two, her shot's on me." A voice piped up.

"Her shot's on her." Nyota rolled her eyes and shot the townie a sharp look, "Thanks but no thanks." Either he didn't get it, or he just didn't care.

"Don't you at least want to know my name before you completely reject me?"

"I think I'm fine without it." Oh how wrong she was! He gave her funny kind of smile that did something to her, something…like she'd seen it before.

"You are fine without it." He shrugged, "It's Jim. Jim Kirk." Kirk? Nyota almost choked. No way! There was no way it was him! She kept her mouth shut, it was really hard and it hurt to play cruel.

"Y'know, if you don't tell me your name, I'll have to make one up for you." He was trying so hard to get her to just look at him, and she finally caved.

"My name's Uhura." There, last name was safe. There was no way he'd remember a girl he dated for a weekend one year ago.

"Uhura?! Really?" His entire attitude changed and she crossed her fingers, prayed for forgiveness, and turned to face him. He wore a bizarrely pained look, "I hate to ask, but is your first name Nyota?"

"Yes, yes it is. Why?"

"You don't remember me at all, do you?"

"Did I ever know you?" Ouch! That was low, even for Nyota. She regretted it the minute she said it.

"I'm sorry, I thought you were someone I knew." His whole demeanor, once again, changed completely, "My mistake, sorry for bothering you." He pushed away from the bar and started to walk away. Nyota couldn't believe what she'd just done, and hated herself. Either she could ignore it, or she could fix this. It was Jim alright, even in the dark bar she'd recognize those blue eyes, that unruly blonde hair He hadn't gotten that far away, she reached out and grabbed him by the back of his jacket. He stopped, but he didn't turn around.

"Let go."

"Please…"

"Sweetheart, look, you're nice, but…it's not us."

"Jim." She lost her grip as he shrugged her hand off and he walked away. It occurred to her just then that he had been completely sober, and asking her name at all had taken a lot of guts. He was out of his element in the bar, his place was on the fairgrounds, in the rodeo arena.

"Boyfriend?" the bartender asked, having witnessed the entire thing. Nyota picked up something, she didn't know precisely what drink it was, and took a sip. She nodded.

"Yeah, sort of."

"He was sober, you know that?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Look, it's not my place, but that's Jim Kirk. To a lot of folks around here, he's a hero. Go after him, get him back."

"I don't deserve him if I treated him like shit." She wanted to crawl into a hole and cry. She was used to rejecting complete strangers, and doing it without blinking. But when she rejected someone she knew and loved, that was a big problem.

"Get him back. Don't sit here feeling sorry for yourself, go after him." The bartender actually took the glass away from her and pointed to the door. Nyota didn't waste another minute. Scrambling from her perch, she ran after Jim. The parking-lot was like a tomb compared to the bar. She saw Jim right away, he was off to her right, leaning against a motorcycle and staring up at the stars. She stopped a safe distance away.

"Jim?"

"Who the hell were you trying to impress back there, Nyota? Do you have any idea how much that hurts? I'm used to strangers shooting me down, not former girlfriends!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't know it was you." Bad excuse, really bad excuse.

"I told you my name, how could you not know me? Unless you forgot about me?" He snorted, "I understand, that's fine and all. After all, you're the sophisticated city-girl. I'm the dumb country hick."

"You're not dumb, and you're not a hick!"

"Then what am I? Hmm?" he turned and looked at her, "What am I?" Nyota didn't answer right away, she wasn't sure what the right answer was. Or if there was a right answer. Her silence was her doom. He made a strange sound, a snicker or something like that, "I thought as much. Good to know you remembered me, Nyota." He looked at her for a long time and she was absolutely shocked when he sat down and started the motorcycle. Was he leaving? Not that she blamed him or anything. She stood back and watched him ride off into the night and wished she could make things right again. When she returned to the bar alone, the bartender didn't say anything, he just handed her something strong and pointed to an empty corner table so she could sit alone. A hundred ways that encounter could have gone differently rolled through her head and she hated herself for hurting Jim like that. She wasn't expecting to see him again, not after she'd treated him like trash. Several male recruits tried to hit on her, she brushed them all off with snippy remarks and a cold shoulder. She didn't _want _them, she wanted Jim.

**_

* * *

Well, this wasn't how Chapter Three was supposed to turn out. It was originally much happier and almost fluff, if I have to be honest. Hurt!Jim, how I hate doing that to him. I'll make the next chapter happy, I promise! If you have any suggestions, let me know!_**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Here's the kiss-and-make up. Jim just can't hold grudges, and we ALL know how guilty Nyota feels about the fiasco at the bar. I hope this makes my readers happy! Mostly dialogue, sorry about that if it's long-ish._**

* * *

Chapter Four

After leaving The Liftoff, Jim Kirk couldn't help but wonder if things could have turned out differently. It wasn't that he was unused to being turned down, really he wasn't. But, like he'd told Nyota Uhura, he was used to being shot down by complete strangers, not former girlfriends. And despite the fact they'd only dated for a weekend, Jim counted her among his most memorable relationships. He knew she was in Starfleet now, but did she _really _think wearing a uniform actually made her better than the rest of the world? That she was too good for people like him? He didn't remember her being that way, and had to remind himself three days wasn't enough to _know _someone. Instead of going home to his place, he headed for Danny's. Jim groaned when he saw the car parked outside next to Danny's truck. Captain Pike was obviously in town, Jim had just brushed elbows with his recruits. What the hell was he doing _here_? Pocketing the keys to his bike, Jim went into the house and found Danny and Pike sitting in the living room, chatting like the old friends they were.

"Jim! You're back early!"

"Yeah, well, I know when I'm not wanted somewhere, Uncle Chris." He hung up his jacket, "Looks like a full shuttle this time."

"A few empty seats, but not many. What's wrong?"

"Absolutely nothing." He smiled and went upstairs. They didn't have to know he'd gotten shot down by a former girlfriend tonight. Pike didn't stay long, and Jim locked his door to keep Danny out. He came by and rattled the door, but when Jim didn't respond he said goodnight and went to bed.

* * *

The clock read roughly midnight when Jim saw headlights on the driveway. His room looked over the front of the house, so he knew when someone was coming. Going to the window, he looked out to see if it was Pike coming back. That was Pike's car, but the person who got out of that car was _not _Pike. Jim groaned and rested his forehead against the window. How the hell had Pike found out about Nyota? Had _she _said something? When Jim heard her footsteps on the stairs, he flicked on his light and went downstairs after pulling on a pair of sweats. Danny was sound asleep, so he didn't hear it when Nyota knocked on the door. Jim opened the door to her and wanted to ask what the hell she thought she was doing, would she please make up her bloody mind, but none of it got said. Nyota, when he opened the door to her, was crying.

"Guess the uniform doesn't make you better than everybody else, does it?"

"I'm so sorry, Jim! I wish I could tell you how sorry I was!"

"Mind my asking how you convinced Captain Pike to drive you out here?"

"She _didn't_, Jim. I insisted." Pike called from the car where he watched them, "I don't know what went wrong between you kids, but you have until that shuttle launches to make it right. I'm not leaving until this mess gets cleaned up." The unspoken "or else" was obvious. Jim just wanted to know how Pike had even found out about it, and decided he really didn't care. Nyota had come all the way out here just to say sorry, that took guts. After turning him down at the bar, she'd come back to apologize, to admit that she'd been wrong. Jim looked out at the car, then at Nyota, who was waiting for him to turn her away.

"Did you bring anything with you?"

"Just a backpack. Captain Pike has the rest."

"Do I have to come back out here tomorrow, Jim, or can you get her to the launch in time?" Pike called out.

"I'll get her there, captain." It was the least he could do. Satisfied but not entirely sure leaving the two of them was the best idea, Pike took off to get whatever sleep he could before corralling three dozen recruits onto a shuttle at eight in the morning just to get them to San Francisco. Jim let Nyota into the house and locked the door, leading her upstairs through the dark house. Nyota had a bizarre request to make of him and asked if she could use his shower.

"Sure. Why?"

"I feel disgusting. I spent hours in that stupid bar trying to get up the nerve to come out here and apologize."

"How many of those creeps tried to hit on you?"

"_Too _many. One of them offered to make you sorry, I told them you weren't the one who needed to be made sorry. You hadn't done a damn thing except say hello."

"Come on." He pulled her off his bed and led her down the hall to the bathroom, where he pulled down a clean towel and dug out the soap and shampoo he'd found somewhere and bought it because it reminded him of her.

"It won't wake Danny up, will it?"

"Shouldn't. Take your time, babe." He backed out of the bathroom, closing the door, and headed for his bedroom. Twenty minutes later, Nyota came back wrapped in a towel…and absolutely nothing else. She carried her uniform in her arms, Jim had the feeling she wouldn't be wearing it again until she had to. Knowing exactly what lay hidden by the towel, he had to smile. He also had to wonder how many other guys knew about the butterfly tattoo on the small of her back. It was the one that had teased him at the county fair last year, playing peek-a-boo between the waistband of her jeans and the hem of her shirt. Or the heart-and-angel wings tattoo on her left shoulder. She closed the door of his bedroom and he patted the mattress in invitation. Tossing her uniform into a corner, she sat down and quietly let her hair down from the towel. Jim smiled and ran his fingers through her damp hair, wondering if he was still the only person allowed to play with Nyota's hair. Leaning in, he kissed the tattoo on her shoulder. That was all for him, in the middle of the heart was the single letter J. She smelled good, she smelled clean, just like he remembered her. Jim got up for a minute and rummaged around in his dresser, coming up with a clean tee-shirt she could wear, and a pair of boxers too. Nyota just smiled and pulled the tee-shirt over her head, pulling her hair into a damp bun. Sliding over on the bed, she snuggled against his side like a cat seeking affection and he held her close.

"Did I say sorry?"

"Yeah, you said sorry. Nobody's perfect, trust me, I know." Jim kissed her on the temple, "So, when did Starfleet start sounding good?"

"They made me an offer I couldn't refuse."

"So, you're a Cadet, you're obviously studying…what's your focus?"

"Xenolinguistics. You're not stupid, but I'm pretty sure you have no idea what that is."

"Study of alien languages, morphology, phonology, syntax." Jim smirked, "Means you've got a talented tongue."

"Prove me wrong, why don't you?" Nyota smirked, "What about you?"

"Danny wants me to get out of rodeo, I just don't know where I'd go or what I'd do."

"Well, what are you good at?"

"Besides riding horses and showing off in front of crowds?"

"Jim." She poked him in the ribs. She knew he was good at a lot more than just showing off for people, though he was awfully good at that too.

"I've got a bachelors in computer engineering and I got my General Federation Pilot's License."

"Not bad for a rodeo cowboy from small-town Iowa." Nyota smiled up at him, "Starfleet could probably use somebody like you."

"No, no, no way." Jim shook his head

"Give me one good reason why you think Starfleet's a bad idea."

"My dad was an officer of Starfleet when he died." Jim frowned, wondering why that never seemed to be reason enough to _not _go to Starfleet. It was usually everybody's _best _reason to join.

"Oh. And you don't want to be remembered for that?"

"I'm Jim Kirk, not just George Kirk's poor unfortunate son who had the bad luck to be born the same day he died."

"Oh, Jim."

"See why I don't want to go to Starfleet?"

"I still don't think it's a good reason. Your dad was George Kirk?"

"Yep. He was captain for twelve minutes, he died saving eight hundred people."

"Jim, you've lived your whole life living with other people telling you that you were too much like your father. That's not fair to you, and really not fair to your father's memory."

"What would you suggest I do?"

"Go to Starfleet Academy and make a name for yourself. Prove them wrong about you, Jim, show them that you can be something."

"Y'know, Danny told me something like that when I became a rough-rider. He said he knew I was destined for greater things than pandering to the dimwits who try to knock over milk-bottles with a baseball."

"Then do it for Danny! Reason enough right there!"

"You really want to me to come to Starfleet, don't you?"

"It'd be nice to tell the dimwitted hopefuls I've got a boyfriend who's also in Starfleet and not a long-distance boyfriend."

"So you don't have to shoot down any unfortunate souls who make that mistake?"

"No, so you don't have to kick their asses later." Nyota smirked. Jim rolled his eyes.

"Nice to know you think me capable of kicking some idiot's ass." Jim snickered, "It's kind of funny. Pike's been hoping I'd stop in that office since he started recruiting for Starfleet and I was old enough to know better. I always said no thanks. He never tried that hard to talk me into it, I think he knew why I wasn't interested."

"Come with me, Jim."

"To San Francisco?"

"Please?" She gave him _that _look, the one he just couldn't say no to and he rolled his eyes.

"If just to see the look on Pike's face when I not only drop you off but follow you onto that shuttle." He smirked and leaned in to kiss her, to get a taste of that oh-so talented tongue. She tasted like his peppermint toothpaste. She pushed until he fell back against the pillow and he reached over to turn off the bedside lamp. Jim just smiled as she used him for her personal pillow and fell asleep listening to her breathe.

* * *

**_There, Chapter Four. Again, sorry for the long-ness. They did a LOT of talking, kissed, and made up. What'd you think of the tattoo on Nyota's shoulder? Want more? Click and REVIEW, my darlings!_**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Christopher Pike checked his watch again and kept an eye on the recruits he'd managed to drag up this round. They had a few minutes, but not a whole lot of time to just sit around and ogle. It was close to launch when he heard the rumble of a motorcycle. It was Jim Kirk, keeping his word. Seeing Jim with one arm around the waist of one of his recruits, flashing that million-dollar smile that to this day made girls swoon, didn't surprise him the way it should have. He watched them approach the shuttle.

"Did you kids make your peace?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. There should be a few seats left." He waved them onto the shuttle and didn't miss how Uhura was in civilian togs this morning. She wore a short, short denim skirt and zebra-stripe tights, short boots, and an off-the-shoulder blouse that bared her shoulders and revealed a tattoo on her left shoulder. Yep, she was definitely Jim's girl. And something told Christopher they were both perfectly okay with that. Jim hadn't asked, and neither had he. Paperwork would get done once they were in San Francisco, he had to take what he could get when it came to Jim Kirk. And if Jim wanted to follow some pretty girl with a wit to match his straight onto that shuttle, then god bless him.

* * *

Finding a seat wasn't that hard, but Jim had his reservations about his right-hand neighbor. To his left sat one of the recruits, but to his right, completely by herself and staring at everyone with big, blue eyes, was a little girl. She had blue eyes and curly blonde hair, and wore a pair of pink polar-fleece footie-pajamas. She hugged a teddy-bear and a blanket like they were all she had left in the world. Jim sat down beside the little girl and looked across the aisle at Nyota, who looked absolutely stunned. What was a little girl doing on a shuttle full of Starfleet recruits?! Jim leaned over and peered under the seat. A pair of duffel-bags and a backpack were stuffed under there.

"Nyota."

"What?"

"Under the seat. Look."

"Oh." Nyota saw the bags, "Okay, good." So she wasn't all by herself. Jim looked at his pint-sized seat-mate and wondered where her parent/guardian was. She just looked right back at him, hugging her teddy-bear more tightly. A commotion towards the back of the shuttle got his attention away from the little girl and he looked up.

"Sir, you need to take your seat."

"I had one!" an irritated voice snapped, "In the bathroom, with no windows!"

"Sir, it's for your own safety." The flight-officer was trying to reason with an unreasonable passenger. Jim looked up as the flight-officer finally wrangled her impossible passenger into his seat with a threat to make him sit if he didn't do it himself. The man looked like a bum, but Jim knew he was the little girl's father. As the man fought with his harness, Jim chewed his lip.

"How did you talk the recruiting officer into letting you bring your daughter?"

"She's all I've got _left_, kid, if that's any business of yours." The man looked at him, "Why do you care?"

"You don't usually see children on the recruiting shuttles. Where did you come from?"

"Savannah. This is Joanna."

"I'm Jim."

"Then name's McCoy, Leonard McCoy."

"So what takes you to San Francisco?" Jim asked as they shook hands.

"Ex took everything, left me Joanna, and said get out of her house."

"Jesus Christ. How long have you guys been on the road, then?" Divorce then. Bad way to go. Jim felt sorry for him.

"A couple months."McCoy shook his head, a man without anywhere to go and nothing left to him but his daughter and whatever they had in their bags. Between them, Joanna suddenly unbuckled her harness. Before anyone could scold her for doing something dangerous, she let herself down from the seat and looked from Jim to her father and did the damnest thing Jim had ever seen a child do. Without a word, Joanna shuffled over and climbed into his lap. Jim, a complete stranger, was her new seat of choice. Nyota just smiled.

"She's adorable."

"Joanna, this is my girlfriend, her name is Nyota." Jim introduced them, holding Joanna close.

"She's pretty. You're a nice man." Joanna turned around and hugged him, Jim wanted to cry.

"Are you okay with this?" he turned to Joanna's father, who just smiled.

"She don't like strangers, this is not like her at all."

"Blame the stress. I don't mind if you don't." Jim was oddly reluctant to let go.

"Nope." McCoy shook his head. He introduced Nyota and McCoy and the flight was actually pretty enjoyable. Joanna dozed off on his shoulder during the last hour and it just about killed him. When they touched down, it didn't even phase Joanna. She stirred and made a noise, but she didn't wake up.

"Kid sleeps like a rock, Bones." Jim sighed and swore to commit that expression on Pike's face to memory for all time when he came off the shuttle with Joanna wrapped in her blanket, asleep on his shoulder, teddy-bear dangling precariously from one hand. And to be honest, Jim didn't care one little bit what the recruiting officer thought.

* * *

After settling in at Starfleet Academy, roommates despite their different tracks, Jim found cranky old Leonard McCoy to be a decent person, and he fell in love with Joanna. He nicknamed his roommate Bones, which both amused and annoyed the man. While they were in Basic Training, the Academy's idea of hell, Bones had his mom watch Joanna for them. Jim didn't actually see Nyota again until he decided to join the Linguistics Club just for the hell of something else to fill his non-existent spare time with.

* * *

**_Well, there's Chapter Five. I had a different plan for Joanna and Bones, but I did some serious editing and changed some stuff around. It was too much for one chapter and I wasn't sure if people would like it. So, speaking of like, what'd you all think of Jim's intro to Joanna McCoy? Remember to click and REVIEW!!! Thanks!_**


	6. Chapter 6

**_AN: Sorry about the hold-up, I've been buuusy and the muses got sick of being ignored. Thus, I give you Part Six of From Rodeo to Romulans! From here on out, I submit to the whim of the reader, lest my muses seize on this and dig in their sharp nasty fangs. If you want to see something, PM me! Please!_**

**_And yes, I gave Gaila a last name. :P_**

* * *

Chapter Six

Nyota Uhura looked around the crowded class-room where the Academy Linguistics Club was meeting and sighed. Over by the door, she saw a new face, a male cadet was chatting up the club president and vice president. It looked more like flirting, and Nyota just rolled her eyes. It wasn't the first time she'd seen this act come through town. Some cadet who didn't quite use his brains as often as he used something else would come through and get into the club, flirt like nobody's business, waste time, and then vanish. Nyota usually kicked those undesirables out, there were other ways to land a one-night stand. She watched the newcomer and frowned.

"Not another one."

"What's wrong?" Gaila Pardee, her roommate, looked up, "What'd I miss?"

"Some new Cassanova's in town."

"Ooh. He's not half-bad looking, if you ask me."

"Gaila, you'd date anybody who asked you the time of day." Nyota frowned.

"Says the girl who refuses to either date or give a guy the time of day."

"I have a boyfriend, Gaila, thank you."

"Sure you do."

"You don't believe me, do you?"

"Nope." Gaila just smirked, "Maybe you should ask out the new kid, he looks good." Nyota was about to say not on your sorry life when the new cadet turned and she saw his face for the first time. She was ten seconds from bolting when she knew it had been a mistake. It couldn't be Jim Kirk, he was too busy for this kind of thing. But, she rationalized, there was no one else it could possibly be. She just observed him, watched the way he worked the crowd. Yeah, it was Jim alright. Nyota smiled to herself, smug. Jim, excusing himself to his current companion, came towards them and Nyota was ready for him when he showed up.

"Hey, handsome stranger."

"Hey there, pretty lady." He came around behind and kissed the back of her neck, "Sorry it took so long."

"I knew if I waited you'd show your sorry ass eventually." She turned around to face him, completely ignoring Gaila, and smiled.

"Your faith is staggering." He rolled his eyes. Nyota leaned up and kissed him full-on, just to freak out Gaila. He pushed her back and smirked, "I think we've properly scandalized your friend here, Nyota."

"Jim, this is Gaila Pardee. She's my roommate. Gaila, this is Jim Kirk. He's my boyfriend."

"Nice to meet you." Gaila was stunned.

"Same here." Jim shook hands with Gaila and then the meeting started. It went quickly, usually it seemed to drag on forever, and when it was over, Jim apologized for ditching, but he had to stop by Captain Pike's office before he headed home for the day.

"Oh, I don't have anything going on, I'll come with you."

"Are you sure you want to?"

"Why wouldn't I?" She pushed him out of the classroom, "What are you so worried about, Jim?"

"He said he had a message for me, it was important, but he would wait until I was out of class for the day." Jim frowned, "That's not usually a good thing." When they got to Captain Pike's office, Jim asked if she wanted to wait outside. She just gave him a look and he shrugged.

"Just asking." He stepped into the office, tossing Pike a strangely casual salute, "Hey, Chris."

"About time you got here."

"Sorry, I ran a little late."

"Ah, Cadet Uhura." Pike saw Nyota and just smiled, "I was wondering how long it would take you two to hook up."

"Long enough, sir." Nyota looked over at Jim, who blushed.

"Jim, can you come here a minute? I kept that message for you."

"Sure, Chris." Jim just shrugged. Maybe he didn't want to, but he would do it anyway. She kept one ear on the conversation taking place at the desk and frowned. It wasn't a conversation Jim wanted to be having, but there was nothing for it. She looked over to see him reading a PADD and scowling. He tossed it onto the desk.

"I'm not giving that the dignity of a response, Chris. You can tell her whatever you want, I'm not saying a damned word."

"Jim, she's your mother."

"Oh please! She abandoned me at the county fair when I was seven years old! And that's the least of her crimes! No! No way." Jim turned away from the desk, "Forget it, Chris."

"Would you at least think about it?"

"Didn't you hear me? No!" Jim walked away from the desk. Nyota took his hand as he reached her.

"What's wrong, Jim?"

"Nothing."

"Okay. If you want to talk about it, I'll listen." She had to try.

"There's nothing to talk about, Nyota. Let's go home. Thanks, Chris, I'll be back in the morning."

"Good night, Jim." It was obvious Pike wished Jim would at least give whatever was festering some descent consideration. They left campus and Jim steered her away from the Academy. Taking a transport to Fisherman's Wharf, they ate at a small Italian restaurant.

"What happened in Pike's office, Jim?"

"My mom's trying to get in touch with me."

"Why is that a bad thing?"

"Because I don't owe her anything. She was never around when I was growing up, I lived with my stepfather for a long time before Danny got shared custody and I would stay with him instead."

"You never really talked about her much."

"We're not on good terms, Nyota. It's a terrible thing to say, I don't have any family really. Danny was the closest thing I ever had to a father."

"You have Joanna and Doctor McCoy."

"Yeah, I do, and I'm real glad they came to San Francisco." Jim smiled at her across the table, "I've got you, too."

"I've just got one question."

"Sure."

"Why are you so informal with Captain Pike? I don't know anyone else who calls him by his first name."

"Pike? He's my godfather. I can call him by first name if I want to, he's okay with it."

"Sounds like you have more family than you thought."

"No real family."

"So, what did your mom want?"

"She wants to have lunch with me. It's like, now that I'm in Starfleet, I'm suddenly worth her time." That did not sit well with Jim, "I don't want to sit for an hour and listen to her go on and on about my dad, about how I look so much like him, about…everything."

"Maybe you should try? She is your mother."

"Whose side are you on, Nyota?"

"I'm on yours, Jim. I don't speak to my own mother, if that's any consolation, I haven't for a few months. My step-mother is a wonderful person and I love my father, but…my mother and I had a falling out."

"Over what?"

"Starfleet, of all things."

"I didn't know that."

"I never told you. At least try to make peace with your mother, Jim, it's not easy for her to reach out like this."

"How'd I land a linguist for my girlfriend?"

"It was a bet, remember? Stefanie never forgave me, by the way."

"Whatever happened to her?"

"She's at the Academy for Engineering. She'd probably die if I told her you were here."

"You should, just to see her reaction." Jim smirked, but sobered, "Do you really think I should bother with my mother?"

"Yeah, I do. I'll go with you if you want me to."

"You'd do that for me?"

"Yeah, I would." Nyota smiled and they finished their meal in silence. Then they walked the Wharf and watched the sun set over the harbor. As they walked through Golden Gate Park on their way back to campus, they were stopped.

"Jim! _Jim!_"

"Who's that?" Nyota looked at the woman coming their way, "Is that your mom?"

"Ugh."

"I'm right here, Jim, don't worry." Nyota pushed him forward, "You can do this."

"Jim!" The woman who finally caught up with them had aged gracefully for someone in her position, or as gracefully as anyone widowed on the same day her son had been born could age.

"Mom."

"What are you doing off-campus?"

"We went out for dinner, that's all. Mom, this is Nyota Uhura."

"Girlfriend?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"You don't look like a one-night stand."

"Mom!"

"What? She doesn't."

"My god! Do you mind?"

"It's alright, Jim. Actually, we've been dating long-distance for the last year." Nyota stepped in and smiled at Jim's mother.

"Oh. He never said anything."

"Of course I didn't." Jim spat.

"Winona, give the kids a break." The gentleman with Jim's mother scolded, "They're not breaking any rules."

"Excuse me, I don't believe we've been properly introduced." Jim turned from his mother, "I'm Jim Kirk."

"I know, I've heard a lot about you, son. Robert Voltaire, it's nice to finally meet you." The gentleman offered one hand and Nyota shared a startled look with Jim.

"Oh my god! Admiral Voltaire! Jesus, sir, it's my honor!" Jim grinned as they shook hands, "Wow! It's…wow."

"Sufficiently stunned. I like you, Kirk. You're a sharp kid. It's good to see you finally joined Starfleet, seems we have this lovely young lady to thank."

"Yeah, Nyota's been good for me." Jim blushed. Voltaire just smiled. They chatted for a few minutes before Voltaire dismissed them to get some rest. Once they were out of earshot, Nyota jumped Jim.

"Oh my god! Jim!"

"Holy shit! Nyota, did you see that? Oh Jesus, I need to sit down." Jim collapsed on a park-bench, "Holy sweet god. Does that make me his step-son?"

"I couldn't see a ring, but we can cross our fingers."

"Hell yeah! Sweet! Admiral Voltaire! He is one of the single coolest people I've ever met. Him and Archer are just awesome." Jim put his head in both hands and caught his breath, "Oh, please , God, please let this be the real thing."

"You can tell Captain Pike tomorrow."

"Wait until he hears about this if he doesn't know already." Jim was in incredibly good spirits, Nyota wondered if he'd get any sleep tonight. Probably not. When they got back to campus, Nyota tugged him in the direction of her dorm. Knowing Gaila, their room would be empty. Sure enough, it was, and clothes went flying. They landed on the bed, fought for dominance, and she submitted to a giddy Jim. After two rounds, they collapsed in exhaustion and fell asleep. Jim was gone by morning, of course, but Nyota just smiled and hugged her pillow. It smelled like him.


End file.
